The Right Choice
by newbornvamp
Summary: Bella makes a different choice after the battle in Eclipse. Sun. Life. Love. Jacob! But will the Volturi forget Bella was suppose to become a vampire? ONE-SHOT!


**A/N. This is my first one-shot. I hope the length is good, I really wasn't sure how long. I went to see Eclipse for the second time last weekend and got inspired by poor Jake in the bed hurt both physically and emotionally. I feel for him, which is why I am Team Jacob! :)**

**Anyways. Enjoy this one shot. The choice our Bella **_**should**_** have made, but didn't. Please leave a review! I enjoyed writing this one-shot and hope to write more of these in the future!**

**The Right Choice**

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I never drove so fast to La Push in my entire life; all I could think of was my Jacob. _My sun._ I was worried about him; I had seen the pain written on his face when the rest of the wolf pack carried him off the battle field. I had stayed with Edward while the Volturi confronted them, but Jacob's well being was front and center in my thoughts.

I slammed the door of my truck shut, feeling the eyes of the wolf pack watching me. I was greeted by Jacob's agonizing screams; they cut right through my soul. I stopped in my tracks right in front of Billy, who looked like he was in pain himself. Another scream cut through the silence.

My eyes shot to Billy and my hand instinctively touched his shoulder. "This has been going on for hours now." His voice was sad and the concern for his son was etched on his face. I said nothing, what could I say. The only person I needed to talk to was Jacob.

I might have stood next to Edward in the field, but my mind was making other decisions. It was Jake. It was always Jake. Since the kiss we shared before the battle I couldn't deny myself anymore. I was in love with Jacob Black.

The door to the small red house creaked open; I looked up almost hoping to see my Jacob standing there. Healed. Whole. Happy. No longer in pain.

My eyes met with Carlisle's golden ones, "I've reset all the bones and given Jacob some morphine. But with his body temperature he will burn it off quickly, I'll be back soon to set up a drip."

I had always envied how Carlisle was always so calm; I'd never seen him get angry. He was always so in control of his emotions, I couldn't help but wonder if he would get angry with me when he found out the decision I had made.

"He's asking for you, Bella."

I nodded in acknowledgement and rushed past Carlisle and out of the view of the rest of the wolf pack. I had to see him, I had to tell him.

_What if he rejects you? He should. He has every right to since you've rejected him how many times._

I would deal with that bridge if I had to cross it.

I stopped in the doorway of Jacob's bedroom, my breath escaping me at the sight before my eyes. Jacob was covered in sweat and had a cast of sorts on the side of his body. I could feel the tears of guilt welling up in my eyes.

"Bells?" His voice was dripping with pain.

I made my way in and sat next to him on the bed. "Jake."

"I was worried about you."

This statement confused me, "You were worried about me?"

"Yeah. I figured Edward would read my thoughts. Was he hard on you?"

I shook my head, "No. Not at all, he wasn't even mad."

Jake laughed despite the pain. "He's good."

"Jake. Listen." I took in a deep breath, I was about to put myself out on the table to possibly face rejection. "Its you, Jake. It's always been you. I just never wanted to admit it to myself before. I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you, and I understand if you don't want this anymore."

Jake's face lit up, he struggled to try to sit up despite the immense pain it must have caused him. "What? Are you kidding Bells? I wouldn't have it any other way, do you know how happy you have just made me? Have you told Edward this yet?"

"No. Not yet. I needed to tell you first." I paused, noticing the new glow on Jake's face. I was happy it was because of me. " I love you Jake." I leaned down to him and gently placed a kiss on his lips, and it felt so right. So perfect.

"Will you stay with me Bella?"

I nodded; I knew I had a wrath to face because of this choice. Not only from the Cullens, which I'm sure by now Alice had seen my decision and the change in my future. Edward probably read her mind and was most likely going to be waiting for me on the other side of the treaty line. The wolf pack was probably going to question this, I was sure of it. Charlie, well at least he'd be happy and would be on my side.

I helped Jake get back into a position that caused him the least amount of pain before I pulled a pillow up and threw it on the floor.

"What do you think you are doing? You're not sleeping on the floor." Jake flashed his grin at me, _my grin._ How could I argue with that? I climbed up on the bed and tried to get comfortable without causing Jake anymore pain.

A gentle knock at the door stirred me out of my sleep. I looked over to Jake who seemed to be sleeping peacefully; I didn't wish to wake him so I gently got up off the bed.

Jake's good arm reaching out and grabbing my wrist, "Don't leave Bells. Please."

I had a pretty good idea who was on the other side of that door and I really didn't want to face it, but it was inevitable. "Come in!" I called as I settled back into a sitting position next to Jake on the bed. Sure enough Carlisle came in, the calm still written on his face. "Jake, I'm going to set up your morphine drip. How's the pain?"

Carlisle's voice was still the same calm it always was. Maybe he didn't know, maybe Alice wasn't paying attention to my decisions. Maybe I could just break up with Edward the way normal girls break up with their boyfriends, and not have him read it out of his sister's mind.

_Normalcy._ I realized how much I wanted it, and I was about to have it with Jake.

"Comes and goes Doc." Jake groaned as he shifted his weight so that Carlisle could stick the IV. Carlisle worked fast and within seconds Jake seemed to relax as the drugs entered his bloodstream.

"Everything is healing nicely. With your advanced healing, you should be back on your feet by tomorrow. I'll come by and check you then." And with that he was gone.

Carlisle never spoke a word to me. _They knew, they had to know._

I stayed in La Push with Jacob for the next couple days. Carlisle was right, he was up and moving by the following evening but I wasn't ready to face the wrath quite yet. I wondered if there was any way for me to hide my decision to go back home from Alice. Maybe I could just get in my truck and not make the decision until I was pulling in front of the house.

_Could it be that easy? No. It wasn't. I knew it wasn't._

I had used my days in La Push to warm up to Billy a little, cooking for him and Jacob now that his appetite had returned. I guess I could now officially cross Billy Black off my list of people I would have to face wrath from.

"I wish I could come with you."

I finished stuffing some of my clothes into my backpack. "I know Jake, but you still aren't supposed to leave the house. We don't need you phasing and re-breaking all your bones. I'll be back later tonight, I promise."

"But what if he's waiting for you?" I could actually feel the concern in Jake's voice.

"He will be I'm sure of it. Alice must have seen me decide. Don't worry Jake. He needs to hear it from me anyway." He walked me to the front door, "Go get some rest ok."

"I will. I love you Bells." Leaning down he crushed his lips to mine and I had to stifle a moan because Billy was in the next room.

"Love you too, Jake." I opened the door and walked to my truck. Taking a deep breath I turned the key the engine roaring to life, I prayed for an uneventful trip back to Charlie's house.

I got my wish, and soon I was pulling my truck into my parking space. Charlie's cruiser wasn't anywhere to be found, but I assumed that he had talked to Billy and knew that I was safe and sound. I cautiously got out of my truck just waiting for the wrath of vampires to come raining down upon me.

_Nothing._

I raced up the front steps eager to get into the safety of the house, as I turned the key to unlock the door I could feel a presence on the porch with me. I should have known, Alice had seen me and Edward came here at super human speed.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to face Edward. "I…. I'm.. sorry, Edward. I can't help that this is how I…." I stopped mid sentence, it wasn't Edward who had come to face me. It was Alice.

"Shhh. Bella." She didn't look angry or upset with me. "Edward understands, no he's not happy about it. But he just wants you to be happy. He's always wanted you to live a normal human life and he knows that the dog can give you that."

I was now really confused. _Edward was just going to step back and let me leave him? _

When he left me I had no choice, and now he really doesn't have a choice. You know what they say about payback.

Alice's cold hand grasped mine and she pressed a folded piece of paper into my palm. "He wants you to read this. Bella, I am going to miss you." Alice pulled me into a hug then took one last look at me before scurrying off into the woods at her super human speed. I was going to miss Alice, I hoped that we could have at least remained friends but I knew her loyalty to her family was strong.

I hurried inside the house, throwing my backpack on the floor before I slumped into the couch. I still stood behind my decision 100%, but I felt guilty for hurting Edward and his family. A family that had taken me in as one of their own and protected me when I needed it the most, that family would now be replaced by the wolf pack.

Quickly I unfolded the paper in my hand and recognized Edward's elegant script right away. I had to choke back some tears as I began to read.

Dearest Bella,

Alice has foreseen the change in your future. All I want for you is to be happy, and live a normal human life. Jacob can give you what I can't, and as much as it hurts to know I will have to live without you I take comfort in the fact that you will be protected and loved. My family and I will be moving, most likely back to Alaska so that Alice and I can both attend Dartmouth. Please, don't do anything reckless. I will love you always.

Edward

The ink began to run from the tears that had spilled out over my eyes. So this was it. My decision had been made; I was looking forward to my life with Jacob. However, as happy as I was I still worried about what happened if the Volturi came looking for me with the Cullens and found out that I was still human.

_Still human and not even with Edward. Would they come and kill me and Jacob?_

I tried my best to push those thoughts out of my mind as I headed up stairs to get a shower and change into some clean clothes and possibly take a nap before going back to La Push tonight.

As the seasons began to change and the leaves began to fall to the ground, I sat on the front porch of Charlie's house with Jacob's arms wrapped around me. It was a chilly evening, but as always I was nice and warm snuggled up to my sun.

We had been talking about imprinting, especially after Leah Clearwater and I had become pretty good friends. She was no Alice, but it was nice to have a girl to hang out with when the boys went to go do their boy stuff. Leah told me all about the incident with Sam and Emily. I hadn't given much thought to imprinting until it seemed recently all the members of the pack were beginning to find their imprints like a bad virus was going around La Push. So far, Jacob hadn't.

"I'll fight it Bella. I'm stronger than the rest, I'm the Alpha." I sighed and leaned in closer to him. Jake had finally taken his rightful Alpha position with some encouragement from me, Leah, and Seth. Sam was more than happy to hand it over with Emily pregnant he wanted to spend more time at home than running the pack. It was a win win situation.

I said nothing, I was tired of talking about it and even more tired of worrying about it. I loved Jacob for everything he was, we would just have to cross that bridge when or if we even came to it. Suddenly the porch light came on and I groaned I knew it was time for Charlie to make me go inside.

"Alright you two. Time to say goodnight, Jake let Billy know I'll be over tomorrow afternoon for the game and I'll be bringing the Vitamin R." Charlie's stern voice caused both Jake and I to jump just a little.

"Will do Charlie. Goodnight Bells." Jacob leaned over and gently pressed his lips to mine, I smiled.

"Goodnight Jake. I love you."

"Love you too Bells."

I watched as Jake skipped down the steps and got into his Rabbit. I didn't look away until I could no longer see his tail lights illuminating in the moonlight. Fighting back a yawn I made my way up to my room and jumped on my bed, I could still smell Jake's smell on my clothes. I couldn't believe how happy and normal things finally were. I had started taking classes at the community college for writing and Jake was planning on joining me next year where he had planned on taking classes to help him start his own mechanic's business. We had our lives planned out. I sighed contentedly just thinking about it as I drifted off to sleep.

In the middle of the night, I swore I heard my window sliding up and then down again. "Jake?" I mumbled half-asleep, Jake would come and visit me on nights when he got done patrolling early which seemed to be quite frequent now as a vampire presence hadn't been seen around here since the Cullens left.

"Bella. No. Wake up."

It was a feminine voice, and instantly I thought of Victoria even though I had seen Edward kill her right before my eyes. I jolted up in bed, my eyes scanning the dark room.

"Bella. It's ok. Well it's not ok, but for now it's is."

_Alice._

Reaching over I switched on my bedside lamp, then looked into Alice's very worried golden eyes.

"It's the Volturi."

_How could I have been so naïve? Imprinting was not the only danger to Jake and I's life together._

I said nothing.

Alice continued, "They are coming to make sure you aren't still human."

My mind reached out to Jake, and I swore I could hear the howling of a wolf not too far in the distance. He must have smelled Alice from miles away and knew he couldn't protect me since it would have broken the treaty.

"We need to go to our house; the rest of the family is waiting there. Come on Bella, Jake will meet us there." She all but pulled me out of my bed and flung me on her back. "We have no time to waste."

Once we made it down to the ground, I saw glow of the eyes and the breath in the cold air. It was my russet wolf, "Jake! Meet us at the Cullen house. We have trouble." Jake let out a whine of protest but turned and took off into the night.

Alice quickly placed me in the passenger seat of Carlisle's black BMW and with vampire speed we were off into the night, on our way to the Cullen house.

I was on my way to face Edward. I swallowed hard, wishing I had Jake with me now. I watched as the scenery blurred with Alice's super fast driving and soon we were coming to an abrupt stop in front of the Cullen house.

I scanned it and could make out several forms in the living room area; the lights coming from the house sent an eerie glow out into the night. I opened the car door and stepped out; the only sound was the gravel crunching under my feet. I wasn't breathing, and my lungs began to burn.

"Bells!"

_Thank god._ I quickly turned to see Jacob running towards me, worry etched on his face. He took me in his arms, "Are you ok?"

"We're not going to hurt her, dog. We are trying to protect her." Alice's nose scrunched up, I felt Jake tense next to me. "It's ok Jake, I'm fine. Let's just get this over and done with." I followed Alice through the door and Jake grabbed my hand following behind me his muscles tense and his body on alert.

"Bella. Jacob. So good to see you." Carlisle still held his calm demeanor and was as welcoming as ever. I was still unsure how the Cullens could even really care about me or what would happen if the Volturi found me after I ripped out Edward's heart.

_Edward._ I saw him only out of the corner of my eye, leaning against the doorway watching me. My grip on Jake's hand increased, and I swore I saw a slight smile playing on Edward's lips as if he had picked something amusing out of Jake's head.

My attention turned back to Carlisle, "It's good to see you too." He gestured for us to sit down, and we took a seat at huge table my hand never letting go from Jake's.

"Alice, why don't you tell them about your vision?" Carlisle turned the "meeting" over to Alice.

"The Volturi are coming. I have seen it. Only Jane, Demetri, and Alec. Why only those three I can't be certain. They will be here, at the house tomorrow night. They want to make sure Bella has been transformed."

I felt Jake start to tremble, and I knew he was never happy I had almost become one of them. One of the things that he hates. "Jake. Calm down, its ok." I whispered soothingly in his ear.

"We are going to have to fight. It's the only way." Edward finally spoke up. "However, Jane is very dangerous with her ability to inflict pain. Everyone is vulnerable to that, except for Bella."

Edward's gaze met mine and I could feel the chills going up my spine.

"So you want to use her as bait? No way." Jake lost his grip on my hand and stood up, his body shaking with anger.

"She won't be in any danger. If we can distract Jane long enough to try to inflict Bella, which she will and she won't give up, the rest of the wolf pack could jump in and take them out starting with Jane." Edward explained, taking a few steps closer to Jake.

"Only if I can be there with her the entire time." Jake took a few more steps closer to Edward, I could tell that old rivalry was still very much present. I stood up grabbing Jake's hand. "It's fine. I'll do it."

Jake's eyes met mine, they were full of worry. "Jake, listen. The Volturi is the only thing left that stands between us and a happy life. I don't want to always have to worry about when they are going to show up." I could tell that he wasn't happy with this; his face fell to the floor. "If it's what we have to do, but I want to make sure you are protected."

"Jane can't hurt me. She's tried; her powers are useless against me." I tried my best to sound convincing, because even I had a smidge of doubt in the back of my mind.

"Alright. It's settled then, Jacob will you go and get the pack together? We need to meet here tomorrow afternoon and prepare ourselves." Jake nodded to Carlisle, turning to me one last time he placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. "I love you Bella. Please stay safe." He whispered in my ear, but I knew all the vampires heard it with their superior hearing.

With that Jake was gone, off to rally the pack.

"I'll take you back to Charlie's." It was Edward who offered and not Alice. I cringed at the thought, but I knew I would have to face him sooner or later. I sighed and followed him out to the garage where I got into the passenger seat of the old familiar silver Volvo.

"Bella, Jacob loves you very much."

I was a bit annoyed that Edward had dug into Jake's mind. "I know."

"I'm glad that you guys are happy. It makes me happy to know that you are living the normal human life you were meant to live. Once we settle this issue with the Volturi, you will never see us again. I promise."

I felt kind of bad; I wished that the Cullens could still be in my life. They had sacrificed so much for me, and here they were doing it yet again. I really didn't say anything to Edward, I just couldn't. I already felt guilty enough for ripping his heart out.

The next afternoon Jake came by to pick me up to head over to the Cullens' house to prepare for tonight's battle. "Well, the pack is in. They are pretty excited to be taking out these leeches. It's been a while."

I didn't say anything to Jake; I didn't know what to say. If any of the pack got hurt by Jane's powers I would be shattered, they were sacrificing so much just for me.

"Just tell them to be safe, ok?" I finally broke the silence. Jake nodded and took my hand in his; I fought to hold back the tears. Just the thought of anyone getting hurt was too much.

Once we got there we went straight to the immense backyard behind the house. The Cullens were already there practicing some intense fighting movies, I felt myself get sick with déjà vu.

Jake looked towards the edge of the trees that surrounded the Cullen's property, "The pack is here. Sam is taking lead for this one."

I saw the familiar forms of the wolves; my new family emerge from behind the trees. How did Jake know they were here? He wasn't in their heads when he was in his human form, maybe he could just sense it.

"Thank you for coming, once again." Carlisle spoke up playing the moderator role he was always so good at. "This battle is going to be a bit different from the one with the newborns. The three vampires that are coming are Volturi, which are in essence vampire royalty. The one you must look out for is Jane who has the power to inflict pain. Alec will block your senses and Demetri has tracking abilities. Taking out Jane must be our first priority, but you must wait for the signal."

Sam, in his wolf form snorted his acknowledgement. I pulled Jake close to me and planned on not letting him go until the Volturi were gone and we were safe to live our lives together, hopefully vampire free.

I watched in silence as the Cullens and the wolves practiced their strategy, Carlisle and Edward pointed out where they would need to hide until the signal was given. I prayed that Jane would try to attack me and leave the others alone, since they were all vulnerable to her powers. Carlisle needed to see if he could find out why there were only three of them coming here and not the entire Volturi guard. Only sending three was unlike Aro.

The sun started setting behind the trees, "It's time." Alice announced her demeanor was calm. "Don't worry Bella. It's all going to go well. Everyone will be ok."

I hoped she was right.

So there we stood, Jacob and I our hands clasped together unbreakable standing with Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper to our left and Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, and Alice to our right. I was glad I hadn't eaten anything in a while because I think I would have thrown up all over the Cullens' backyard.

We all stood in the loudest silence I had ever experienced. We waited, our eyes focused on the forest ahead. Nobody spoke and nobody moved.

"They're almost here." Alice's voice was a whisper. I took one last deep breath as the wind picked up and I knew they were almost on top of us.

I watched as the three crimson eyed vampires descended upon us, their black capes flowing behind them. As they got closer they pulled their hoods from their heads and revealed their faces.

"Ah. The Cullens. It's good to see you again."

"You as well Jane. Alec. Demetri." Carlisle stepped forward as he always did, playing the mediator. "To what do we owe this visit?"

Jane cocked her head to the side, "I'm sure you know from the visions. We've come to see if Isabella is still human. "Her crimson eyes fixated on me. "What is the awful smell?"

I could feel Jacob trembling next to me. "Jake. Not now, please." He was struggling to stay in control.

"Why is it that only the three of you are here? I was looking forward to seeing Aro again. It's been too long."

_Carlisle was good, really good._

"There has been some.. changes.. in the Volturi since our last visit. Why is it that she is still human? I hope there is a good reason for the delay."

"They wanted to take Bella, me, and Alice to help form the new Volturi guard." Edward whispered to Jake, Alice, and I. "The rest of the Volturi has been killed." Edward spoke a little louder with his last sentence.

Jane's eyes shot to Edward. "Yes. That is correct mind reader. It was a decision that had to be made. We had become… exposed. Now, why is she still human?"

My jaw almost hit the ground; I remembered when Edward told me the biggest rule was to not let humans know of their kind. The Volturi had disobeyed their own rule?

"Bella is not going to be changed." Jake growled. Panic welled up inside of me, why had Jake spoken. I feared Jane was about to use her power on him.

Jane's eyes shot to Jake and then narrowed, "And who is this?" She looked at Jake and I's hands, "Is she no longer your mate Edward?"

"No. Bella has decided to live a normal human life. One that is more suited for her."

Jane's head cocked to the side yet again, "Ah. Such a pity. She had such potential. It's a shame that humans can not control their emotions as well as we can. Since I can't seem to affect her, you must pay the price." And with that Jake let out a horrible scream, he left go of my hand and fell to his knees on the ground, screaming in complete pain.

Within seconds the pack emerged from their hiding places, Jake fell to the ground his screams becoming more intense. Jane didn't even have a second to react before Sam lunged at her. She was down on the ground, Leah and Seth started ripping her limb from limb. Jake stopped screaming and I knelt next to him, the battle sounds draining out as all I could focus on was my sun.

"Jake, you ok?"

He looked up at me, nodding. "Yeah, I am now. Damn Bella. That's one bitchy leech there." He laughed, out of breath, sweat rolling down his face.

I turned to see that the battle was over. The wolves had ripped apart the last three remaining members of the Volturi and once again we were back to the sound of nothing but the crackling of the fire that Edward and Carlisle were building that would send Jane, Alec, and Demetri to their final resting places.

Jake recovered and pulled himself up off the grass, he waved to the wolves and they headed back into the forest. Back to their own land, this temporary agreement had come to an end yet again.

I felt a pair of cold hands on my arm and I turned to see Alice, who looked pretty sad. "I'm going to miss you Bella." She pulled me into a hug. "I'll miss you too Alice. You know you can always come and visit."

"I will." I looked into her golden eyes one last time as we parted, "Oh and Bella. You and Jake live a very long happy life together. No imprinting necessary." She winked at me before joining her family.

I took Jake's hand, and for the first time I had no worries about vampires or imprinting coming between us. I had our little forever to look forward to.

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